Plymouth Undercover

by Pamela M. Kelley

  “So, what about you, Emma? Are you seeing anyone?” The question had a flirtatious tone to it, and Emma was regretting that she hadn’t gotten her food to go. Justin was nice enough, but she would never be interested in a married man, or someone that much older. She knew plenty of women were, though.

  “I am dating someone,” she lied.

  “Of course you are. If it’s not serious though, you really should come to my next boat party. We’re taking her out Sunday afternoon for a later afternoon harbor cruise. Stop down around three if you want to join us. It will be a blast.”

  “It sounds fun. I’ll keep it in mind,” she said. She finished her tuna on seaweed salad and packed up half of her Godzilla roll to finish later. She rarely was hungry enough to finish both in one sitting. Emma asked the bartender for her check when she came to check on them.

  “There is no check. You’re on Justin’s tab.”

  Emma turned to Justin. “You don’t have to buy my dinner. Let me give you some money for that. She reached in her purse and he shook his head.

  “Your money is no good here. You agreed to keep me company, and it was my pleasure.”

  Emma felt awkward. “Well, thank you then. That’s very nice of you.”

  He laughed. “Have a good night, Emma. And remember, Sunday at three if you want to have a blast with us. It will be a good time.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. Goodnight, Justin.”

  Chapter 24

  It was still light out when Emma got home. The sun was just beginning to set, and the sky was a rosy pink. Oscar was waiting for her, and she let him in and gave him a small can of wet food. He was beginning to fill out nicely. She put her leftovers in the refrigerator, grabbed a bottled water and stepped out on the deck.

  She loved watching the sun set over the water. It was a relaxing time of day. The air was still, and the ocean looked like glass, barely a ripple across the surface. All was calm and serene. She sat and put her feet up on the railing, and thought about her conversation with Justin.

  As much as she thought the guy was an obnoxious flirt and an obvious cheat, he was still likable, and she really found it hard to see him having anything to do with Nancy’s death. Yet, at this point, he was the only one that had any kind of motive. And he did have an alibi. Rich had mentioned that he was having one of his boat parties the night that Nancy died. So, unless he hired someone to kill her, it was pretty unlikely that he was involved.

  Emma still had an uneasy feeling that she was missing something. Maybe she would have her mother check with Rich to see if they ever looked at Sheila or her boyfriend, George. Though, that didn’t make sense either, as Sheila had said she was Nancy’s best friend. Best friends didn’t kill each other. And she’d been so broken up about it, crying at the funeral and when she told Emma how close they were and how everyone loved Nancy.

  So, they really were back at square one. Emma shivered as she thought about the possibility that it might have actually been a random killing. If it was, that meant anyone could be next. It could even be a serial killer. Though the idea of a serial killer in Plymouth seemed far-fetched.

  Movement to her left caught her eye, and she saw Brady open the door to his slider and step out. But just as quickly, he went back inside. She guessed he forgot something and went back for it. It was starting to get darker, that twilight time when the sun hasn’t quite set all the way and there’s still some light left, but any moment it could be snuffed out.

  It was then that she saw two familiar figures walking down the beach coming towards her. Sheila and her boyfriend George. They looked like they might have just gone out to dinner. Sheila was in a flowing orange sleeveless dress and George was in dark pants, a white dress shirt that was untucked at the waist, and the first two buttons were undone. He was holding something in his hand and Emma saw that it was a neck tie, all balled up like he’d just taken it off.

  A chill ran through her. Nancy had been strangled. She looked away and quickly dialed Brady’s number. He answered on the first ring.

  “Hey, what’s up? I was just going to come out on my deck.”

  “Brady, can you just listen….I might need you to come over here in a few minutes.”

  “What’s wrong, Emma?”

  “Just listen, Brady….and come over.”

  Emma slipped the phone in her back pocket but kept the connection live, so Brady could listen. She also hit record.

  Sheila and George walked up the steps to her deck. Both of them were smiling, and it made Emma shiver again.

  “So, this is where you live, Emma,” Sheila said.

  George looked around. “Nice place. A little small, but the view isn’t bad.”

  “Thanks,” Emma said.

  “You know why we’re here, don’t you, Emma?” Sheila said softly.

  Emma thought she did know now, but thought it best to play stupid. “No, I don’t.”

  “You didn’t just start at the PI agency. That was a lie. We saw the article in the paper. It was your father’s agency.”

  Emma said nothing.

  “Which means that you know too much, Emma. I should have done that shredding myself.”

  “Nancy was your best friend. How could you?” Emma said.

  Sheila laughed. “Nancy was never my best friend.” She smiled at George and squeezed his hand. “That was always George. Nancy was a good friend, though. She made things easier for me. I do miss that.” She sounded like she missed what Nancy did for her more than she actually missed her friend.

  Emma began to connect the dots. She still didn’t think that Justin was involved, but now she knew that Sheila was very much aware of what was going on.

  “You knew what Justin was doing. Was he giving you a cut or something?” She thought of the silver Mercedes that Sheila drove.

  “He would have done the same for Nancy. His mistake was ever having her sign those first few deals. She thought they were legit at first. But she was too smart. She figured it out, and she was going to say something.”

  “She was going to put a stop to it, and you and Justin would both be in trouble,” Emma said.

  “When he offered her a cut, it just made her more determined to put a stop to it. I couldn’t let that happen. The money was too good and I’ll be damned if I was going to let her ruin it all.”

  “So you killed her?” Emma still found that hard to wrap her head around.

  “Well, no, not exactly. I didn’t do it. I wouldn’t be able to lift her. A dead body is like dead weight, you know. Plus, she was a friend. I couldn’t bring myself to do that.” She smiled. “But George could.” George took a step toward Emma and played with the tie in his hands. Emma took a step backwards and glanced toward Brady’s house. She hadn’t seen any more movement over there—it would be a good time for him to stop by.

  She needed to keep Sheila talking.

  “What about Nancy’s phone? The police said it took a ride on the commuter rail from Kingston to South Station. That made them look at your husband, Peter. Did you do that on purpose?”

  Sheila looked pleased with herself. She nodded. “Yeah, that was my idea. After George moved Nancy’s body, I dropped him off at the train station and he rode to South Station and back, dropping the phone in a trash can.”

  “He was their top suspect for a while. You must have really hated him,” Emma said.

  Sheila laughed. “Oh, I don’t hate Peter. He’s a pain in the ass, though. I knew it wouldn’t be enough to convict him, but thought it might send the police in the wrong direction for a while. And it did.”

  “So, what now? The FBI is investigating. They will figure this all out, eventually.”

  “Not if I can help it. We’ve gotten rid of all the evidence. Files are shredded. It should all die down soon,” Sheila said.

  “Did Justin know about this?” Emma asked.

  “No. Justin had nothing to do with this. He never would have done anything, and Nancy was going to bring us both down. So, I had no c
hoice.”

  “So, why are you here then? Killing me isn’t going to help you.”

  “Well, you know too much now. We don’t really have a choice. It’s too bad, I did like you,” Sheila said. She glanced at George. “We should get this over with.”

  George lifted the necktie and took a step toward Emma. She was about to scramble up and over the deck and make a run for it when the door to her deck opened and Brady stepped outside, holding a gun.

  “Both of you, sit,” he said, directing George and Sheila to sit at the round table. George rushed at him instead and Brady shot the gun into the air and stuck his foot out at the same time, so George was disoriented and tripped.

  Brady stood over him, holding the gun.

  “Next time, I won’t aim at the sky. Take a seat.”

  In the distance, Emma heard sirens. Brady kept the gun pointed at Sheila and George, who were both sitting at the round table looking pissed.

  A few minutes later, there was a knock at Emma’s door. She ran inside and let Rich and his partner, Rob, in. She led them to the deck, where Brady still had his gun pointed at Sheila and George. Emma filled Rich in. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket.

  “I recorded the whole conversation.”

  Rich nodded. “We’ll need that recording.”

  He gave Emma his email address, and she sent the recording off to him. Rich and Rob led Sheila and George away in cuffs, and as soon as they were gone, Emma’s legs suddenly felt weak and she grabbed hold of the deck railing to steady herself.

  Brady noticed and walked over to her. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded and was horrified when her eyes suddenly welled up, and she shivered.

  “Come here.” Brady pulled her close and hugged her tight. “You’re safe. I’m right here. I’ll stay here tonight if you want?”

  Emma shook her head. “Thanks. I’m okay though. It was just the shock of it all hitting me. Did you hear everything?”

  He nodded. “As clear as day. I wanted to come out sooner, but you still had her talking and she was burying herself. Crazy to think she could have her friend killed.”

  “She didn’t want the money to stop. Justin must have been giving her a nice cut. I thought it was strange that an office manager was driving a high end Mercedes. Her car was gorgeous.”

  “You just never know about people, I guess. But, Emma, if you need anything at all, I’m right next door.”

  Chapter 25

  Emma and Mickey had both been pretty good lately about avoiding donuts and trying to make healthier choices, but the next morning on her way into the office, Emma thought they all deserved donuts. She went through the drive-through of Mary Lou’s and got herself a Peanut Butter Wonderful iced coffee, which was the most delicious thing ever, nut-flavored coffee with chocolate syrup. She only rarely indulged in those. She also ordered an assortment of donuts and Mickey’s eyes lit up when she put the box down in the middle of the coffee table.

  Her mother already knew what had happened the night before as Emma had called her as soon as Brady went home and assured her that she was okay. Emma told Mickey all the details of the night before and he was suitably impressed.

  “Your father would have been proud, Emma. Good job recording the conversation.”

  Her mother congratulated her again but also looked concerned. “This can’t ever happen again, Emma. If Brady hadn’t been home, you could have been killed. We can’t take chances like that. We have to be more careful in the future.”

  Emma knew she really meant that Emma needed to be more careful. “You’re right. I know you’re right, and I will be more careful. I promise. Did you hear anything from Rich?”

  Her mother nodded. “Yes, I talked to him on the way in this morning and he said they have a pretty strong case now, thanks to your recording, and the FBI is still gathering more information. It looks like both Justin and Sheila are in a lot of trouble. But at least Justin didn’t kill anyone.”

  “I still can’t believe Sheila had Nancy killed,” Emma said.

  “It sounds like there was a lot of money involved. Rich said they researched her bank account and there were multiple payments of fifty thousand—every other month for the past year.”

  Mickey whistled. “That is a lot of money.”

  “And George had moved in with her. So, it was in his best interest to keep the money spigot flowing,” her mother said.

  “It’s just so sad though,” Emma said. “But Sheila didn’t seem to regret it at all. She really didn’t care about Nancy. Just the money.”

  “Well, I’m glad we were able to get some answers for Belinda and that Sheila and George will go to jail for a long time. I don’t know about the two of you, but I’m looking forward to some less exciting cases. Workman’s comp or insurance sound nice.”

  Emma had to agree. “I’m ready for something milder for sure. That was fun though…well, until the very end. It was a little nerve-racking,” she admitted.

  “And that won’t happen again,” her mother reminded her.

  Emma smiled. “It won’t.”

  They spent the rest of the morning working on a new skip-tracing case and were about to head to lunch when the main phone rang and Emma’s mother answered. Mickey and Emma both eavesdropped on the conversation but it was hard to get a feel for what was being said on the other side.

  “A cold case? You were a good friend of Fred’s? Well, of course we’ll meet with you. Tomorrow at ten am in our office is fine. We’ll see you then, Kathryn.”

  Her mother hung up the phone and walked over to them, wearing a concerned look.

  “Who was that?” Emma asked.

  “She said her name was Kathryn Hughes and many years ago she was a good friend of your father’s. It must have been after we divorced because her name wasn’t familiar to me. She just moved back to Plymouth and wants our help with a cold case involving her sister. She said it’s a long story and she’ll explain it all to us tomorrow.”

  “Was her sister murdered?” Emma asked.

  “I don’t know. She didn’t say. I hope not.”

  Mickey reached for another donut, blueberry-filled this time. “Well, I guess we’ll find out tomorrow. Never a dull moment around here these days.”

  Thank you so much for reading Plymouth Undercover! I hope you enjoyed the story. If you’d like to be notified when the next book in this series releases, please join my mailing list. Or sign up on my website, www.pamelakelley.com

  If you enjoyed this story, you might also like my other two women’s fiction mysteries, Trust and Motive.

  Next up on June 8 is The Hotel, a women’s fiction standalone novel set on Nantucket. Available everywhere—see an excerpt and all store links on my website.

  I have a wonderful reader group on Facebook that you are welcome to join-two actually. My personal Pamela Kelley group is here. And I also started a mystery/thriller reader group with a few other authors that has lively discussions about what people are reading. You are very welcome to join one or both.